Kunstnerens moder, Anna Maria Høyer, f. Jensdatter 1756 - 1804

Cornelius Hoyer painted this miniature portrait of his mother, Anna Maria Hoyer, presumably in Denmark in the late 18th century. It is interesting to consider the rise of portraiture alongside the rise of the individual and the family unit, particularly within the bourgeoisie. This tiny image embodies that social history. The artist creates and owns the image of his mother, made for the purpose of remembrance and familial pride. The Danish Golden Age, though later, saw the consolidation of a national artistic identity. In the late 1700s, the art academy in Copenhagen played a crucial role in shaping artistic taste and training artists like Hoyer. His career coincided with Denmark's evolving cultural landscape and its negotiation of identity in the shadow of larger European powers. We can consult institutional records, family histories, and collections of letters to understand the social and institutional context surrounding the creation of such an artwork, whose significance is contingent on these contexts.